Why Executions In the Middle Ages Were Needed - Essay

Executions
6/14/11
Purple

     Many people consider "An eye for an eye" to be immoral.  During the Middle Ages there were multiple ways someone could get executed.  It was a common thing for people to go and watch executions, even children.  It was a form of entertainment that most people enjoyed.  Another pro to executions was that it made people think twice about committing crimes.  Therefore, executions were appropriate during this time period.
     In Europe during the middle ages the murder rate was much higher than it is today.  Vagrancy, theft, and capital crimes were all crimes that could have someone executed.  Most convicted felons were hung and the beheading was saved for the noblemen and women.  In Medievil Times, jails were rarely used as a punishment.  Medievil courts were very different from modern day courts.  Trials were often unfair and unbalanced.  Accused felons were deinied legal representation.  Felons that refused to confess their guilt in court were crushed to death with weights.  Anyone who was convicted of high treason was hung, drawn, and quartered.  Although, not every punishment was worthy of death.  People would be humilliated in front of the town or village by being put in the stocks or ducking stools and getting whipped.
     Public executions in the Middle Ages hapenned almost daily.  People looked forward to going to executions.  It was one of the most popular forms of entertainment.  An attendence of all ages watched these executions.  It was a part of everyday life to go to the center of the town or village and view these events.
     During the Middle Ages the crime rate was extremely high.  The law enforcement at the time struggled.  People would steel, murder, and commit other crimes and still get away with it.  Public executions were one of the few ways to tell people not to commit crimes.  When people went to these executions the message that was supposed to be sent was that if they committed crimes they would be executed just like the people they watched.  After executions, the bodies would be left to warn other people about breaking the law. 
     During the Middle Ages executions were needed.  It provided entertainment and a warning the community about breaking the law.

                                                                             

                                            
    

The Fall of Rome

There are many different reasons why the fall of Rome occured.  Even though Rome did fall, historians are not positive why. 
One problem with Rome was that Emperors had all the authority.  There were many Emperors who were well liked and others who were not.  If things weren't going good the Emperor would automatically be blamed and the dissatisfaction of the citizens would increase greatly.  The people of Rome trusted not in their Emperor but in their religous faith.  In the Roman society large populations of slaves did most of the work and because of the end of conquest, the arrivals of great amounts of riches and slaves stopped.  Rome's income began to decline slowly. The economy of Rome struggled while Emperors didn't know what to do.  As taxes grew higher the emperors tried balacning the economy by making prices of items equal.  Merchants grew angry because they had to sell small things for very high prices.  Although the economy was not the only problem in Rome. Disease spread throughout the highly populated Roman Empire. Since everyone was in close contact with eachother the plague could spread easily.  The disease was not curable or preventable which made things even worse.  The plague not only killed about 1/6 of the Roman population but also reduced trade and production.  The economy wasn't the only thing weakening.  Rome's army had too little soldiers to protect its borders.  Germanic tribes realized this and took advantage of it.  With the economy, disease, and a weak army, Rome would fall.
                                 



Doctors and Mathematician's contributions

Doctor: The Middle East contributed a lot to the Islamic world.  The Muslims made important advances in medicine.  Diseases spread constantly so the job of a Doctor was a very important role in the Islamic world.  Muslims had the first hospitals and started experimenting with different medicines. 

Mathematician:  The Middle East invented the 1-9 numerical system.  This helped because they were using Roman numerals before and they were hard to work with.  This was the biggest contribution.  The Muslims also used algebra which was also very important

Historical Relationship Between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

Muhammad taught his followers to respect people of the Christianity and Judaism religion.  All 3 of the religions coming from Abraham they all tell some of the same stories and teach some of the same lessons.  These religions all believe in one all knowing and merciful god. 

The Qur'an